Down Hall is a Victorian country house and estate near

Hatfield Heath Hatfield Heath is a village, civil parish, and an electoral ward in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England, and at its west is close to the border with Hertfordshire. In close proximity are the towns of Bishop's Stortford and Sawbridgewo ...

in the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

county of

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...

, close to its border with Hertfordshire. It is surrounded by of woodland, parkland and landscaped gardens, some of which is protected by the

Essex Wildlife Trust The Essex Wildlife Trust (EWT) is one of 46 wildlife trusts which cover the United Kingdom. The EWT was founded in 1959, and it describes itself as Essex's leading conservation charity, which aims to protect wildlife for the future and the people ...

History

The first Down Hall was a Tudor house, once owned by

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wri ...

Matthew Prior Matthew Prior (21 July 1664 – 18 September 1721) was an English poet and diplomat. He is also known as a contributor to ''The Examiner (1710–1714), The Examiner''. Early life Prior was probably born in Middlesex. He was the son of a Noncon ...

. Prior was acquainted with

landscaper Landscaping refers to any activity that modifies the visible features of an area of land, including the following: # Living elements, such as flora or fauna; or what is commonly called gardening, the art and craft of growing plants with a goal ...

Charles Bridgeman Charles Bridgeman (1690–1738) was an English garden designer who helped pioneer the naturalistic landscape style. Although he was a key figure in the transition of English garden design from the Anglo-Dutch formality of patterned parterres an ...

, who he commissioned to landscape the estate's gardens. After Prior's death in 1721 (just one year after buying the property), the house was passed to his friend

Edward Harley, 2nd Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer Edward Harley, 2nd Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer (2 June 1689 – 16 June 1741), styled Lord Harley between 1711 and 1724, was a British politician, bibliophile, collector and patron of the arts. Background Harley was the only son of Rober ...

, who undertook further rebuilding. Twenty years later, and with the house still unfinished, Harley died.

Selwin family

'Leaves from a Hunting Diary in Essex' p

Upon Harley's death in 1741, the house was purchased by William Selwin, a wealthy silk merchant, for £4500. The estate remained in the Selwin family until 1902, where – on the death of

Henry Selwin-Ibbetson, 1st Baron Rookwood Henry John Selwin-Ibbetson, 1st Baron Rookwood, (26 September 1826 – 15 January 1902), known as Sir Henry Selwin-Ibbetson, Bt, from 1869 to 1892, was a British Conservative politician. He served under Benjamin Disraeli as Under-Secretary of ...

(who had commissioned its full rebuilding in the late 1860s) – the Selwin and Ibbetson lineage died out.

World War I

During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the house was used as a

sanatorium A sanatorium (from Latin '' sānāre'' 'to heal, make healthy'), also sanitarium or sanitorium, are antiquated names for specialised hospitals, for the treatment of specific diseases, related ailments and convalescence. Sanatoriums are often ...

for wounded soldiers. The estate was affected by the post-World War I recession, and was subsequently sold at

auction An auction is usually a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bids, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder or buying the item from the lowest bidder. Some exceptions to this definition ex ...

Modern history

Following its sale, the house was used as a school (Downham School, 1932–c.1967) and an antiques business and conference centre (1967–1986). In 1986, the estate was purchased by the Veladail Group, who have operated the site as a four-star

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...

, conference centre and

wedding A wedding is a ceremony where two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes. Most wedding ceremonies involve an exchange of marriage vo ...

venue since.

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

television personality Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group as a result of the attention given to them by mass media. An individual may attain a celebrity status from having great wealth, their participation in sports ...

Jade Goody Jade Cerisa Lorraine Goody (5 June 1981 – 22 March 2009) was an English television personality. She came to public prominence in 2002 when she appeared on the third series of the Channel 4 reality show '' Big Brother''. She went on to s ...

wed her partner

Jack Tweed ''Celebrity Big Brother 2007'', also known as ''Celebrity Big Brother 5'', was the fifth series of the British reality television series ''Celebrity Big Brother''. The show followed a total of fourteen celebrity contestants, known as housemates ...

at Down Hall on 22 February 2009. Series eleven and twelve of ''

The Great British Bake Off ''The Great British Bake Off'' (often abbreviated to ''Bake Off'' or ''GBBO'') is a British television baking competition, produced by Love Productions, in which a group of amateur bakers compete against each other in a series of rounds, atte ...

'' were filmed at Down Hall, where, due to Covid-19 restrictions, all cast and crew quarantined together in a "bubble" during the six weeks of filming.

References

External links

* {{Official website, http://www.downhall.co.uk/
Essex Wildlife Trust website
Country houses in Essex Hotels in Essex Grade II listed parks and gardens in Essex Country house hotels